


Mirrored Scars

by delta_altair



Series: Trusting Love - A Fair Game AU [7]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Companion Piece, Day 2: Scars, Developing Relationship, Kissing, M/M, Other Characters - Freeform, Platonic Hummingbird, Scars, Yang Xiao Long - Freeform, fairgameweekend2020, mild panic attack, robyn hill - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 15:55:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26800258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delta_altair/pseuds/delta_altair
Summary: They both have scars. But they also have each other.(A companion piece toTrust Love.)
Relationships: Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen/Clover Ebi
Series: Trusting Love - A Fair Game AU [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1719832
Comments: 5
Kudos: 50





	Mirrored Scars

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion piece to [Trust Love](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23236687/chapters/55637161), meant to fill in Qrow's point of view once the PoV switches back to Clover in that fic. Highly recommended that you read that fic first!

Qrow swung his sword up, pressing his hand against the flat of the blade, and braced himself. The Griffon slammed into the blade, talons scraping and sparking across the metal. His arm seared from the impact -- Qrow hoped he hadn't re-opened the wound there. With a grunt he shoved the Grimm away, made a tight pivot in order to swing his weapon around around, and sliced the Griffon in half. 

He took a short moment to catch his breath, before calling out behind him, "Alright, let's keep going." 

Pietro and Maria emerged from the alleyway behind Qrow, followed shortly by Jaune, Ren, and Nora. The latter pair still looked as shaken as they had been on the Manta down from Atlas. Jaune approached Qrow and spoke, pointing to a communicator in his ear. "Team RWBY and Penny are catching up. They handled the rest of the Grimm."

"Good," Qrow rasped. He spared a moment to cough into his hand; his throat felt so dry, what he wouldn't do for a glass of water right now. They had just left Pietro's shop, having stopped to allow the inventor to pick up some supplies, and to scavenge a basic weapon for Qrow. The sword felt far too light in his hands, but he'd make due. "We're going to have to find a place to hunker down." He glanced up at the bevy of airships swarming beneath Atlas. "And hide."

"But what about the Grimm?" Nora protested. "The radar in the Manta showed a _lot_ of Grimm. How are we going to handle that?"

Qrow suppressed a sigh. Nora had been the most adamant about protecting Mantle, even when it meant confronting Ironwood directly. She had the heart of a true huntress, and Qrow admired that, but he knew he just needed to keep his family safe first. "We'll figure it out. We just need a place to re-group, and make sure we don't get picked up by Atlas in the next few hours."

"We could help with that."

Qrow spun around, pointing his sword directly at the source of the noise. Which was in the face of an unimpressed-looking Robyn Hill. 

"Uh, sorry," Qrow sputtered, lowering his weapon. How had she even....ah. He spotted May Marigold behind Robyn, one hand on her weapon and eyeing their group warily. Right, invisibility. He looked back at Robyn. A single question bulldozed to the front of his mind, but he held back. Focus on the present. "Yeah, we could use your help. We're all still wanted by Atlas, and we need a place to regroup to deal with the Grimm."

Robyn nodded. "I figure we'll need all the help we can get to defend Mantle. There's a hidden Huntresses base not far from here. You can come with us."

Qrow let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, we just need to wait fo-"

"UNCLE QROW!"

"For my niece's team," he drawled. Clearly his expression of mild exasperation was amusing to Robyn. Qrow turned around and waved to Ruby, who was approaching with her team and Penny from further down the street. He threw up a pair of Hunter's signs: _"Quiet. Stealth.",_ and then pointed up to the circling airships. 

He got a silent _"Sorry!"_ back in response, which he couldn't help but grin at. As they waited for the team to catch up, he turned back to Robyn and quietly asked, "How did you get back here?"

"The med transport let me off just as they passed the wall." She cast a furtive glance down at the red band wrapped around Qrow's arm. "They went straight for Atlas Med, so far as I could tell."

Qrow felt his throat tighten. That was an hour ago. Was Clover ok? Was he in surgery? Could that even happen with the Grimm attacks? He let the thoughts go as Ruby and the others arrived. Focus on the present. 

"Alright everyone, stick together. Blake, Ren, keep your eyes on the sky. Nora and Yang watch out for anything approaching from behind." He nodded towards Robyn. "Thanks again. Let's go."

He tightened the armband, feeling it press against the wound at his elbow. That was definitely going to scar. They set off through the streets of Mantle, the atmosphere of the populace steeped with fear. Qrow tried not to add to it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"We need to find Oscar," Yang declared. "If there's even a chance Oz might finally speak, with Salem so close, we have to get them both here."

"Agreed," Weiss said, nodding. "But where do we even start looking for him? I hate to say this, but you said he went to talk to General Ironwood, right? He was on the wanted notice too, what if he was arrested?"

Pietro spoke up, "I might be able to help with that. I could see if he was ever entered into the Atlas computer system."

Qrow rubbed at his eyes as the conversation continued. Most of the group was standing around a holographic mission table. The tech was old, and the radar showing the approaching Grimm swarm had definitely been stolen from Atlas, but it was useful. Qrow was a dozen feet away, leaning against a nearby doorframe. Fatigue clung to him like clothes after a rainstorm, and worry seeped into his every thought. The army of Grimm approaching was bigger than anything he had ever witnessed in his life -- and he had journeyed into the Darkland Wastes. Ironwood wanted to run and abandon Mantle. Oscar was missing. And Clover....

He didn't want to think about the possibilities. 

"Uncle Qrow?"

Yang's voice pulled him out of the negative spiral his thoughts had taken. He looked up at her, and noticed the rest of the group had dispersed from the mission table. "Everything alright?"

His niece gave a resolute nod. "We're going to search for Oscar. Pietro is going to scan the Atlas systems to try and figure out if Oscar was arrested. We'll search Mantle in the meantime."

"Sounds like a plan," Qrow murmured, pushing off the doorframe and reaching for his sword, which he had left leaning against the wall. But Yang reached out and grabbed Qrow's arm, her grip gentle but firm.

"You're exhausted Qrow," she said, her tone leaving no room for argument. "You're in no condition to fight."

"And you are, after fighting the Ace Ops?" Qrow challenged.

Yang sighed, "I don't know what exactly happened out there Qrow, but it was clearly something bad." Qrow frowned, shrinking back a bit against the doorframe. Yang pressed on, "You don't have to push yourself past the limit for our sakes. We'll be fine, Robyn is going to come with us. Besides, someone needs to watch over Ruby." She glanced back at her sister, who had curled up on one of the couches on the opposite side of the room from the mission table. Looking back to Qrow, Yang gave him a steely look. "She used her eyes against Cinder. But....you should just talk to her, ok?"

The crease in Yang's brow told him that there was more going on, but Qrow simply nodded. She had a point, and if Ruby needed him, he would stay. "Be careful out there, firecracker. Watch each other's backs. And come back right away if anything goes wrong."

"We will. Thanks, Uncle Qrow." She leaned in and gave him a big hug. Qrow felt his heart seize up a bit, but he hugged her back. "We'll find Oscar." 

He watched the large team leave, heading up the stairs to the hidden entrance of the base. Leaving his hopefully temporary weapon propped up against the wall, he walked over to the couches, hands in his pockets and an unhealthy but typical slouch in his back. Qrow still felt stiff and sluggish, but resolved to talk to Ruby. Yang had been worried, more than her usual 'big sister is always worried'. 

"Hey pipsqueak," he said, grinning as Ruby stuck out her tongue at the nickname. "You feeling ok?"

"Yeah." She picked at the edge of her cape, which she had pulled around her like a blanket. "Yang told you about the fight with Cinder?"

"A little." Qrow sat down on the couch next to her. "You wanna talk about it?"

Ruby immediately leaned over and plonked her cheek onto his shoulder. Her brow was furrowed in frustration as she spoke, "She got away again. This is the second time, and this time no one..." she gripped the edge of her cloak in her hands before continuing, "Everyone was ok. Winter was hurt but Weiss said the medical teams in Atlas are the best in Remnant. But I feel like I failed, Uncle Qrow. I let Cinder get away again, and maybe next time will go worse..." Her voice trembled on the last word, and Qrow felt his heart break.

"That's not your fault, Ruby. You did your best -- it sounds like you stopped Cinder from hurting Winter or Penny any more." He sighed, thinking back to the Manta briefly. "You never know when you're going to have to act quickly, or make a hard decision. But you made the right call, Ruby."

Ruby made a non-committal hum, fiddling with the silver rose brooch on her belt. She pulled away from Qrow, leaning back against the couch and fixing him with a tried, confused look. "She talked about Mom."

Qrow blinked, tilting his head in question. "Cinder?" Did that vile Maiden-killer really try to intimidate Ruby by bringing up Summer? 

"No." Ruby's voice was tiny. "Salem did."

The blood in his veins ran cold, and Qrow felt an eerie dread creep over him. "W-what do you mean? She _spoke_ to you?"

Ruby nodded. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and wrapped her arms around her knees. "When General Ironwood came back to his office, he had a bag with him -- I think he took it from Watts. There was some weird Grimm inside, it looked like a weird jellyfish." She wiggled her fingers for emphasis on the 'weird'. "It showed Salem, I think she was talking through it somehow. It...really seemed to frighten General Ironwood. And I told Salem that we _were_ going to stop her." Her lower lip trembled; Qrow reached out and rubbed her shoulder. "She said...that my mom had said the same thing. And she had been wrong. A-and then my eyes started acting up, I couldn't control them. My head hurt. Yang held onto me...Salem was gone by the time I got up." Ruby looked up at Qrow, eyes watering. "What did she mean? Did she...did Mom....?" She trailed off, glancing down at the floor. 

Qrow swallowed past the lump in his throat. He hadn't expected this. Old trauma was digging itself up alongside new hurts. But he soldiered on -- Ruby needed a solid presence. "I don't know, Ruby," he said softly. "She never told us exactly where she was going. Just that it was far away, and it was important. Even Oz didn't know, and despite...previous revelations, I trust that he told me the truth about that. She had been spotted by another group of Hunters near the northwest coast of Sanus, about a week before she disappeared. I went looking and...that's where I found her brooch."

Ruby looked down at the silver rose on her belt. She thumbed over it gently. "Just this?"

"Yeah. Not her weapon, not any other part of her gear, not...not her. There were a _lot_ of Grimm in the area, so I thought maybe she had...gotten caught off guard. But there should have at least been signs of a fight, and there was nothing. I looked for a long time." He leaned his elbow into the back of the couch and rested his head against his hand. "I wish I could tell you more, Ruby. We had suspicions that Salem had something to do with it. Team STRQ had run missions for Oz for years, so it wouldn't be surprising that she had it out for us. But to _know_ for sure, now. It's scary, Ruby. It's really scary, and there's nothing wrong with how you're feeling. We're going to get through this. You've got your sister, me, your team, your friends. We're all here for you. But....you're allowed to be afraid, Ruby. It's ok."

Ruby was quiet for a long moment, seemingly thinking, looking off into the distance. When she finally looked back at Qrow, she gave him the tiniest smile. It was so small, but it was a Ruby-smile. "Thanks, Uncle Qrow. I think I'm going to have more questions, but...I'm really tired. I'm going to try and get some sleep before the others get back." Her eyes narrowed and she pointed an accusing finger at him. "And you should too! You look tired."

"Hey! I know I don't look that bad," he said, knowing he was fibbing a bit. He looked terrible. "But I will, don't worry. You get some rest."

Ruby curled up on the couch with one of the Huntresses’ slightly threadbare but comfy looking blankets. Qrow wandered around the nearly empty base (only Pietro and Maria had stayed, both staring into Pietro's computer in his temporary lab as he worked) until he found a med kit in one of the storage wounds. He needed to check the wound on his arm, then he could rest.

He hauled open the door to a bathroom and stepped inside. After placing the med kit on the counter, he slowly undid the clasps on his cape and removed his many layers, being careful not to strain his arm. He placed Clover's armband on top of his shirts with a quiet reverence. Down to just his white shirt, he peeled back the collar to look at his right shoulder. It was bruised from the shot that had shattered his aura, but thankfully the skin hadn't broken. He set to cleaning and disinfecting the cut on his arm, being methodical in his process. It wasn't too deep, but it was going to leave two jagged scars.

The thought of it scarring made him pause halfway through the bandaging. _Another_ scar from Tyrian Callows. The faunus was dead, but memories of poison and nightmares still made Qrow's skin crawl. He finished the rest of the bandaging quickly, then pulled up the bottom of his shirt. 

The scar, a straight line across his ribs, was raised and had a faint violet tinge to it. He thumbed across it. An unconscious shiver came over him as he remembered the strange feverish chill of Tyrian's poison. How helpless he felt.

It reminded Qrow of how helpless he had just felt, watching what he thought was Tyrian killing Clover. Qrow's semblance had bent luck in their favour just in time, thankfully. But what if it hadn't been enough? Did Clover get medical help fast enough?

Was he even still alive right now?

Qrow pitched forward slightly, pressing his left hand and forehead against the cool glass of the mirror. Both his hands were shaking, and he suddenly found his breath coming in short gasps. 

No, no he had to be alive. He was lucky, right? Not like Qrow. 

But Clover's aura had been broken. There was nothing protecting him anymore. And Atlas was going to be under attack soon.

Qrow took in a few gulps of air around shaky exhales. He had to calm down. He had to be ready to fight once the Grimm arrived, ready to protect his family. 

His mind, rapidly jumping between various nightmare scenarios, suddenly latched onto his earlier conversation with Ruby. Qrow remembered being young, in a forest, out on some new mission as a barely-trained student. His semblance had caused something to go wrong, he couldn't even remember the details anymore. But Qrow vividly remembered sitting on the forest floor, head in his hands, shaking with rage and doubt and self-hatred. And a quiet presence sitting next to him, getting him to steady his breathing.

_"Focus on the now. Just breathe with me". Summer rubbed a hand across his shoulders, mimicking a slow, steady rate of breathing. "What's around you right now? Find something that you can control."_

Qrow glanced down at the pile of clothes on the counter. Clover's armband was wrinkled and bloodstained. Finally, get let the hem of his shirt fall back down, hiding his scar. After another minute of focusing, Qrow felt his breathing steady out. He leaned away from the mirror and picked up the armband, handling it as if it was made of glass. 

With a terrible amount of effort, he got his mind to focus on one thing. He should clean this, so it wouldn't be dirty when he gives it back to Clover. 

With a flick of a handle, the sound of rushing water filled the room. Qrow lathered up the armband with soap -- it would have to do for now -- and began methodically washing away the stains of blood. The tips of his fingers were wrinkled by the time he was finished. He wrung out the cloth, being careful not to stretch it too much. Now the red color was uniform, showing no signs of staining, and the fabric regained it's surprisingly soft texture as it dried. 

Qrow wrapped it around his wrist, just below his own black armband. Did it suit him? He wasn't convinced, but he would keep it with him until he could give it back to Clover. 

The hope felt small, but he held onto it anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You've been doing better, Branwen."

Qrow glanced up from his scroll. Maria Calavera was looking right at him, and the rest of the room gradually turned to look at both of them. 

"Oh, thank you. I've been working on the scythe fundamentals, like you told me. Though it's been difficult without...actually having my weapon." He frowned.

"No, no, no." Maria shook her head emphatically. She snatched up another cashew from the bowl in the centre of the table before continuing, "Your whole outlook. I can tell."

Qrow flushed at the sudden external introspection of his character, especially with other people in the room. Pietro was seated next to Qrow and Maria, and had politely looked back down at his own scroll, but over by the kitchen, team JNOR were obviously sneaking glances. "Um....thanks?"

Maria opened her mouth again, probably going to continue the line of conversation, but she was mercifully interrupted by Yang calling from downstairs.

"UNCLE QROW! Come down, there's a present here for you!"

Wait, what? They were in the middle of a siege, he wasn't getting any deliveries. Setting his confusion aside, he pushed his chair back and made his way downstairs. Halfway down the landing he was nearly run over by Yang. And then Blake and Weiss. "Hey, what are you talki- wait where are you all going?"

Ruby shot up the stairs last, joy bursting from her expression. "Just go down!" she exclaimed, giving him a little push as she passed by. "Go!!"

What the hell was going on? He walked down the last set of stairs, wracking his brain. The only reason he could think the kids might want to surprise him would be his birthday, but that wasn't for another few....

Clover.

Clover was standing in the middle of the room. Wearing a dark green vest -- oh how it suited his eyes -- instead of his usual Ace Ops attire, with a duffel bag in one hand. Hair a little damp and starting to curl, probably from the snow outside. Here. Alive. _Alive!_

Qrow may have gasped, he wasn't quite sure. He noticed Clover's eyes roaming over his figure; some part of his brain was immensely pleased at that, but it was overwhelmed by unbridled shock and joy. 

It took effort to try and force words out of his mouth. "You...I hoped, I really hoped, but I wasn't sure if you'd be ok, if you'd be able to...you came back." 

The warm expression that flooded across Clover's face made Qrow's heart swell. "Of course, Qrow," he said. "You asked me to stay with you, didn't you?"

_Oh._

Qrow shot across the room and pulled Clover into his arms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you feeling alright? You're not tired? I can just go if-"

"Qrow." Clover pulled him close again, pressed another sweet kiss to his lips. "I want nothing more than to be here right now. I've missed you so much."

Qrow felt a deep emotion bubbling in his chest, and he leaned forward and buried his face in the crook of Clover's neck. He felt the deep rumble of Clover's chuckle through his chest, and it made Qrow feel warm. 

"And I'm feeling just fine, Qrow. Atlas medical did a good job, and I've been resting ever since." Clover reached up to card his fingers through Qrow's hair, leaving a pleasant, tingling sensation in their wake. 

They were sitting on Qrow's bed in the Huntresses' base, Clover with his back to the small headboard, and Qrow practically curled up in his lap, though he was careful to avoid putting pressure on Clover's chest or stomach. The celebratory cake Ruby had insisted on would take a while to finish, so he and Clover had snuck away for some time to talk alone. 

Qrow's heart felt lighter than air, but there was still something that tugged at him. A fear that had been hiding in the recesses of his mind, even as he held onto a living, breathing Clover Ebi. "Can I, uh...would it be ok if I saw them?" He pulled back and brushed his hand very gently over the bottom edge of Clover's vest. "I just...I trust Atlas doctors, but I think I just need to _know._ That it was real. That you're ok."

"Of course," Clover whispered. He undid the buttons on his vest, then pulled up his grey undershirt.

The scar was still a somewhat angry red against Clover's tan skin. Two jagged puncture wounds just under his ribcage, slightly offset to Clover's right side. Qrow reached his hand out, but faltered, looking up. At Clover's soft nod, he continued on, brushing his fingers against the scar. 

Tyrian was dead. He couldn't hurt them anymore. But something still hurt, and Qrow thought it would hurt for a long time. 

A gentle touch on his right arm pulled him back to the present. Clover's thumb ran over the scar at Qrow's elbow, a thoughtful expression on the other man's face. He reached down to the hem of Qrow's white shirt. "Can I...?"

"Yeah."

Clover stared at the scar from Tyrian's stinger, something of a wry look growing across his features. He pulled the collar of his own shirt down, exposing a thin, violet scar that ran from the center-left of his chest up to his right collar. "Looks like we match now." 

Qrow huffed, followed shortly by an incredulous chuckle, then a full on roll of laughter. Clover joined him, the two leaning into each other, foreheads resting together as they laughed. 

Qrow couldn't remember the last time he had laughed like that.

Reaching down to the hand still resting on the scar, Clover slid his fingers between Qrow's own. "We'll be ok," he said, a quiet confidence simmering behind his words. "The scars are always going to be there. But we have each other now. We'll move forward together."

And as Qrow leaned in for another kiss, he knew in his heart that he believed Clover.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Firstly, a big thank you to the Fair Game Effect server <3! The magnitude of the creativity from you all astounds me.
> 
> And a huge thank you to my amazing beta readers, [thedarkpoet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedarkpoet/) and [alphaparrot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alphaparrot). You rock <3


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